A little over a year ago the Inaugural Loreto Food and Wine
Festival was held here in Loreto Bay. As
luck would have it, I was making a visit back to Canada that weekend and so I had
assistance from some of the organizers to put together the posting “Food, Wine
and Fun . . . Mar. 2012” about the event.
Like so many things here in Loreto, the Festival came together in the
final few days, but regardless it was one of the largest and most successful
events of last Season.
With the considerable funds raised during last year’s
Festival a full functioned EKG machine was purchased for the local hospital and
training was provided for the operators, along with other local donations to
Caritas, the Internado School, the local Optimist Club, the Loreto Baseball League
and training programs for Loreto Paramedics.
When the small committee that was involved in organizing the
first Festival was able to assess the dual successes of the social event and
the charity funds that were raised, they realized that this event had huge
potential to grow and become even more successful and generate more charitable
benefits in the future. But to realize
that potential they needed an organizational structure to plan and co-ordinate
their efforts; both in organizing future events and distributing the funds
raised from them, and so “Amigos de Loreto” was born www.amigosdeloreto.org (note: at the
time of this posting the website is undergoing some “construction”, if this
link does not work please try it again at a later date).
As a Civil Association registered in Mexico, “Amigos” can
issue Facturas (or Mexican tax deductible receipts) for donations and
contributions by companies or individuals paying taxes in Mexico which greatly
increases the pool of potential donors and how they can assist with funds and
“in-kind” contributions. But what really
sets this organization apart in my mind is the fact that after the initial
success of their first event they made it a priority to create an organizational
structure with a Mission Statement, financial transparency, and accountability.
Now that this structure has been established with a broad
based mandate to benefit credible charities within this community, it can now
play an important role as a conduit for contributions above and beyond the
specific events that are sponsored by the organization itself. Now, there is a channel that can efficiently
direct the generosity of individuals or businesses toward the most deserving
candidates where it can do the most good.
To extend their charitable reach, Amigos de Loreto has
established a relationship with Hermosa Beach CA, Loreto’s sister city, and
through that website, www.hb-sistercity.org
there is a link to enable on-line donations, through which support can be
directed by specifying “Amigos de Loreto” as the beneficiary. It is a further goal to establish a similar
relationship through an appropriate Canadian link to be able to facilitate
contributions from there as well.
The mandate of the Amigos Association is to support local
non-profits focused on Healthcare, Children and the Environment within Loreto
and the surrounding municipal area, which extends about 30 km around the town
itself. But perhaps it’s most important
role is providing a credible and transparent organization to raise funds and
distribute them effectively and efficiently in the greater community area, with
the main source for this fundraising coming from the proceeds of special events
like the Food and Wine Festival.
There is also a longer term vision behind the organization,
and that is to promote and grow the public awareness of Loreto as a destination
through the publicity and exposure that these special events create. That is why this ambitious group, while
planning an expanded second annual Food and Wine Festival, is already working
on plans for additional events in the coming year that will bring increased
exposure to Loreto Bay and strengthen the connections with the surrounding
community.
This year the Loreto Food and Wine Festival will take place
on the March 23 – 25 weekend, an increase from the two days of the inaugural
event last year, with a “White Night” opening party on the Friday, the Festival
Street Party on the Saturday, followed by the Golf Tournament on the
Sunday. Members of the Loreto Restaurant
Association will again provide a taste tempting selection of foods to enjoy,
complimented by a much expanded variety of Baja wines.
Tickets for these events as well as raffles will be going on
sale soon and will be available at most locations in Loreto Bay as well as at
participating restaurants in town. Word
is that the same “big band” that was such a hit at last year’s Festival will be
making a return appearance this year. In
addition to the expanded schedule for the upcoming Food and Wine Festival there
are also exciting new plans afoot for an Octoberfest here in the Fall focusing
on regional and micro-brewery beers.
As many of you who have been reading this Blog understand,
there is a strong appetite within this community for almost any excuse to
participate in some form of party or celebration. While logically, as these events grow larger
and more ambitious – and more successful – they require a correspondingly
larger and more sophisticated organizational and support infrastructure. With
the established model of many of these events including a charitable benefit to
the community, their growing success creates an equally expanding source of
donations that have to be effectively distributed where the need and positive
impact is greatest.
In answer to both of these demands stands a new
organization, Amigos de Loreto, providing the logistical wherewithal to grow
one of the largest events from last year into an even bigger celebration this
year – while growing their capacity to administer the correspondingly greater source
of funds that will be the result of such progress. Bringing people and their skills together for
the benefit of those less fortunate who live in the surrounding area – while,
at the same time, providing a growing number of signature events that will add
to the enjoyment of those living here and help to spread the good news of the
lifestyle that is possible – these are powerful forces to bring together that
will have a growing impact on “Living Loreto”!
